A magical place to visit
By Finlay H
Location
Exmouth is located in Western Australia, on the eastern coast of the North West Cape, 1253 km north of Perth,
If you wanted to drive to Exmouth from Noosaville State School, it would take you 58 hours and you would need to drive 5,529 km. Are we nearly there yet!!!
History
Yinikutira are the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Country along the Ningaloo Coast in the area of Exmouth. Aboriginal people have an ongoing cultural connection with the area spanning over 30,000 years. One of the world’s oldest piece of jewellery the 30,000 year old Mandu Mandu shell necklace.
The area around Exmouth was visited by pearlers and whalers from the late 19th century. During World War II, the area around the Exmouth Gulf was used by Australian and U.S forces with up to 1000 U.S service men living in the area at the time. The area was known as little America.
During World War II while American troops served at the RAAF base, they still celebrated American Celebrations like the 4th of July. They paid for things with green dollar bills and drove on the right side of the road with their Cadillacs. The troops left as the war ended. The base was maintained with an airstrip and is today known as RAAF Learmonth and also the local airport
In the 1960’s the town of Exmouth was developed to support the RAAF Base and also the Naval Communication Station, Harold E. Holt. The naval communication station has radio towers that is used to talk to submarines in the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean. The tallest tower called tower zero is 387 m tall and used to be the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere.
Environment
The Ningaloo coast was declared a World Heritage site on June 24th 2011. The area covers 6045km2 and stretches more than 300km along the coast.
The Ningaloo reef is the largest fringing reef in the World and one of the best places to see whale sharks. There are estimated to be around 300-500 whale sharks migrating to the area annually. Ningaloo is also home to many amazing creatures e.g., whales, dolphins, manta rays, dugongs, orcas, sharks and turtles.
The Cape Range is a National Park that is part of the Ningaloo World Heritage Area. Underneath the Cape Range National Park there are estimated to be around 535 limestone caves with a depth at up to 100m. Around 80 species of subterranean fauna that call these caves home.
Fun things to do in Exmouth
– Go fishing off the town jetty.
– Go diving with the biggest fish in the ocean the wale shark with Ningaloo Discovery.
– Snorkeling at Turquoise Bay you could see lionfish, very friendly turtles, reef sharks, jellyfish, colorful reef fish. Try finding Nemo!!!
– Catch a wave at Dunes Beach but be beware of the clouds of MOZZIES!!!!
– Explore Cape Range National Park with its amazing gorges and 4WD.
– Camping under the stars at Yardie ceek.
– Take a photo under the big prawn, it looks yummy.
– Join a humpback whale sunset cruse.
Glossary
Fauna – Another word for animals. Plants are called flora.
Limestone – A type of rock also known as chalk or calcium carbonate. Limestone is a soft rock and easily dissolves when it comes into contact with water.
Subterranean – Under the land
Bibliography
Little America in the remote Pilbara: The ruins of a cold war US defence base – ABC News
Ningaloo coast world heritage area visitor guide
bulefishonwheels.com 